Cutting strips

Most agree that cutting strips is the first daunting task in building a cedar stripper.

Most people try and walk the plank through a table saw, and then with a surface planer attempt to uniform the strips.

I was lucky to learn from the Minnesota Canoe Assc., how easy and effective it was to cut strips with a skillsaw ! It was not only easy but cheap. For less than $100 I was set.
I use the strongback to hold my plank, as I walk back and forth cutting strips with a skillsaw.

It produced strips that did NOT need to be planed, as they were uniform enough to be beaded and coved without any further work !

Here is a pic of my current set up.

 

Jim,

If you are very careful.
For my 1st canoe I bought the strips from a local supplier, and they were cut as you describe.
They were definitely not uniform.

On the last 2, I cut my own. 18-20 ft full length, over the table saw, with long infeed and outfeed tables to hold/catch the strips. (I use the same "tables" to hold the strips when glueing them up.) 2 feather boards both in and out to control the boards. If you keep them moving you get good strips.

I start with 2x stock, and 1st cut it to 2x2's, They are then run through the TS cutting (which is actually 2 strips at a time), (rotating the 2x2 to get the best grain). The strips are keep in order and taped back "together", and then the 2x2 stack is run through 1 more time cutting it in half.

Being a Minnesotian, I didn't B&C the strips, but just planed a rolling bevel per the MCA. Stapleless of course.

With a new Diablo 7.25 blade, there is no need to plane the strips.

Dan

 

Hi Dan

I've never cut my strips from 2x stock, My early boats, I cut a lot of 1x12s, lately they've been 1x8s. Lugging the 1x12s back and forth would have been a pain.

It's great to have infeed and outfeed tables, plus enough room!

A lot of new builders that I've helped were lucky to have a random orbital sander, so the skill saw method worked great.

I have an old Makita (Japanese made), 13 amp, that's cut strips for over 20 boats, and I use a skill saw to cut gunnels too.

I know a lot of builders in Minn. that never use bead and cove. I started beveling, doing my first three, but once I started Bead and coving, I never looked back.

The Diablo blades are great. Thin kerf, with very clean cut !

Uniform strips really make things easier !

Good to hear from you Dan !

Jim

 

As Dan said, "If you are very careful."

As with anytime you run power tools, be careful.

A drawback to the skilsaw saw method is that when you cut strips in the 1/4" range, the guard is rendered useless, and the blade is exposed.

So extra care is needed to prevent serious injury.

I keep the cord slung over my shoulder, and away from the saw while operating.

And I never set the saw down until the blade stops turning.

Be safe if you use power tools of any kind!

Jim

 

Agreed, that's what is nice about cutting the 2x2's, relatively small pieces of wood.
I cut 3/16 or less thick strips, and get 8 or 9 double strips from a 2x2.

"Lugging the 1x12s back and forth would have been a pain."

 

Hi again Dan

I was wondering when you cut the 2x2s, do all your strips come out quarter sawn?

A table saw in that instance would be the best tool.

I much prefer quarter sawn strips, for their stiff and straight nature.

Thanks Dan.

Jim

 

Here is a close up of the aluminum angle I clamp to my skilsaw for cutting strips.

Note the edge of the angle that rides against the plank is reduced to about 5/8". This prevents the fence catching on the cleats when I have a thin plank

 

Jim,

That is one of the benefits of using 2x2 blanks, you can rotate the stock to get the best or your preferred grain. Of course it also depends on the 2x you are starting with. For strips I would go to a local lumber yard that (at least at the time) carried Aye grade cedar to 20 ft and look through their bins to find nice boards. They weren't usually quarter sawn but were clear and I could get nice straight, tight grain pieces. It wasn't cheap though.I usually got 2x4's but sometimes 2x6's, just depended on what they had at the time.

BTW - for red cedar planking stock, I usually just search the cedar racks at Menards, trying to find 2x6's or 8's that I can up-grade. Much cheaper then the Aye at the real lumberyard. This would get cut to rough width and rough thickness on the TS, then sized in the planer.

Dan

"do all your strips come out quarter sawn?"

 

Thanks for the tip Dan !
1X stock is getting hard to find around here ! And 20' lumber would be great for tandems.
I'm going now on a "Cedar Safari" to search and sort wood.
Thanks again !

Jim

 

Here is a pic of my latest strip cutting setup. Seems it always evolves.
Still using a Freud Advanti 24t carbide blade. Works great !

 

Getting a long outfeed is a bit of a trick. One approach that could make things a bit more forgiving would be to cut 3/4 banks from 2x using a circular saw approach and then each of those blanks to 3/16th strips on the tablesaw. If you number/letter reference line accordingly you can bookmatch and do all sorts of magic with your dozens of strips from the same board. A lighter blank on a less than ideal outfeed is going to be less likely to overcome feather boards than a 40# plank.

 

I used a bandsaw to cut 2x2 .It's what I could find in long yellow cedar. 14' infeed and outfeed tables. I hinged them in the center and hooked them on the rip fence rails. So I only needed 4 stands. While a bandsaw is fairly safe, it levels a rough finish. A so what on the outside, but extra work on the inside.

 

A 15 amp Skilsaw does a most excellent job ! Especially with 1x stock !



Jim

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